Wildcats Defeat Santa Fe and Texas
Published on March 5, 2007 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The Wildcats had another strong weekend when they defeated the second-place Roadrunners on Friday night 4-2, and then traveled to Frisco on Sunday, beating the Texas Tornado 3-2. The Cats have won 5 of their last 6 games. Unfortunately, any hopes of making the playoffs were eliminated on Saturday after Fairbanks defeated Alexandria and clinched the final spot in the NAHL South Division. The Cats currently sit in 5th place in the NAHL South Division, and are led in scoring by Adam Cardwell.
The Wildcats came out strong on Friday night, getting on the board first and never looking back. Zach Josepher scored a powerplay goal at the 8:13 mark of the first period giving the Cats an early 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Josepher connected again and capitalized on the assist from Brett Morrell, putting the Cats up by two, and scoring his second goal of the game. With a little under two minutes left in the frame, the Roadrunners were able to score one of their one, but the Cats still led 2-1 after twenty minutes of play. Brian Downing got the scoring started in the second frame at the 9:43 mark. Michal Hrtus and Adam Cardwell assisted Downing who took advantage of his position and slid the puck past the Santa Fe goalie to once again put the Cats up by two. The Roadrunners blasted the Cats goal with 14 shots in the second stanza, but Cal Heeter was on top of his game saving 13 of the shots, and the Wildcats led 3-2 going into the second intermission. The Cats took eleven shots on goal in the final frame, and were finally able to put one more goal in at the 18:36 mark. Cal Heeter assisted Skylur Jameson on the final goal and the Wildcats defeated the Santa Fe Roadrunners 4-2.
On Sunday the Wildcats traveled to Frisco, TX to take on their long-time rival, the Texas Tornado. Luke Salazar got the Cats on the board first at the 15:26 mark of the first frame. Joel Sauer and Ville Aman assisted Salazar, who blasted the puck past the Tornado goalie to put the Cats up 1-0. A few minutes later, the Tornado went on a powerplay and was able to sneak one past Heeter to tie the game. The Cats came out strong in the second period, and went ahead 2-1 at the 2:28 mark when Ricky Doriott assisted Sean Nealon who took advantage of his position and put one in the back of the net. Unfortunately, the Tornado were able to once again answer back and tie the game before the second intermission. The scoring chances were few and far between for the Cats in the final stanza, only getting four shots on goal. Luke Salazar capitalized on his opportunities though and scored the game winning goal off an assist from Eddie Effinger, giving the Cats the 3-2 victory.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 5, 2007
- Wildcats Defeat Santa Fe and Texas - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- IceDiggers to wear NASCAR jerseys this weekend - Alpena IceDiggers
- Central Division Race Tightens - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
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